The void swallowed Kain again, the sterile lab dissolving into mist just as Kain was about to make his biggest breakthrough.
For a moment, there was nothing—no sound, no light, no sense of self. Then, the world reformed around him in jagged pieces, each fragment a different life, a different choice, a different end.
But unbeknownst to Kain, a mechanical voice rang out judging his performance which he couldn't hear:
[Assessment: Perseverance Recognized. Proceeding to Alternate Echoes.]
[Remaining Performance Metrics to Assess: Adaptability. Innovation. Resolve. Moral Character]
Kain's was brought to all kinds of simulations of alternate realities that showed what his life could have been, with slight changes.
One in which his 'eldest sister' Airalai never disappeared, but strangely, as a result, some of Kain's youngest siblings, such as Melody and Charlie, were never brought to the orphanage.
Another reality wherein Kain was unable to help Cherry or Gabriel, leading to them falling victim to the experimental procedures done on them.
Another alternate reality in which his family in his past life didn't all die in a car crash, but only survived a couple of years longer until a devastating disease broke out and killed them all.
And hunger. He was starving. Kain's skin crawled and his body ached from the intense feeling.
Even his veins were now a dark violet, throbbed erratically with a hunger that gnawed at his bones.
He stood in the ruins of Dark Moon College. 'What happened here? What could lead to the destruction of one of the top Colleges?'
Kain looked up. The sky was an eerie red. Almost as if the sky was bleeding. Looking around, he could also see the mottled and dried vegetation. The very earth seemed to be ill.
Bodies littered the ground, their forms withered, their faces frozen in silent screams. And the air hummed with the remnants of a familiar energy that made Kain's skin tingle with a thrill.
Kain looked down at his hands.
But they were not his own. At least, they didn't at all resemble the hands he was used to seeing.
His skin was a lattice of pulsing dark purple veins, the flesh around it was pale and translucent with a purple tinge as well—a stark contrast to his normally healthy tan.
His fingers ended in jagged claws, the nails blackened and cracked.
Glancing at his reflection in a broken window of a building, Kain could see that his eyes were no longer brown.
They were violet. With some gold flecks
Almost identical to the eye he'd seen when his consciousness had travelled through the Abyss—although he still wasn't sure whether or not it was a dream.
A whimper drew his attention.
A student—who appeared to be a first-year, no older than eighteen—cowered behind a shattered pillar. Her contract, a small fox-like creature, bristled, its fur standing on end as it gave a 'threatening' (adorable) bark at him.
Kain took a step forward.
Its body convulsed, its fur losing luster, its muscles deflating like a punctured balloon. Energy poured from its body into Kain's. The fox collapsed, its body crumbling to ash before it even hit the ground.
The girl screamed in horror.
Strangely, Kain wasn't surprised by the turn of events. It was almost like what had just happened was to be expected. The natural order of things.
Soon enough, the young girl's body convulsed, her skin graying, her veins standing stark against her flesh as they darkened to black. She reached for him, her mouth forming a word—
'Monster,' Perhaps? Not that Kain cared. Does a lion care about the feelings of its prey before it dines on them?
Within seconds, the vibrant young life was gone. A husk.
'A mere snack.' Kain thought in dissatisfaction.
Kain turned, his gaze sweeping the ruins.
More voices. More fear. More food.
He could sense them—every living thing for miles—their energy like candle flames in the dark. And he was starving.
But just when Kain was about to leave the barren location in search of new prey, a familiar voice rang.
Serena stood at the edge of the devastation, her silver hair whipping in the strong wind as she sprinted toward his location.
She looked like a pure angel descending into hell—her beauty sharpened by grief, her eyes reflecting the carnage around them.
Around her were her contracts. Balens began to glow as she whispered something in its direction—likely a wish. But the wave of spiritual power headed towards Kain's location shattered against his skin, absorbed before it could take hold.
Kain raised a single eyebrow coolly at the sight. Based on the previous mission they went on together, where its wishes proved ineffective, Kain had long theorized that a high concentration of Source energy could restrict the seemingly omnipotent Balens—now that theory was proving to be correct.
Seing, Balens' failure, her other contracts attacked him in unison:
The Elemental Guardian's flames turned to smoke in his palm.
Starweaver's celestial arrows dissolved mid-flight.
Prismarin's illusions melted like wax.
All the energy from the attacks got absorbed by Kain and converted into the highest, all-encompassing form of energy—Source energy.
But seeing the lack of success of her contracts, Serena didn't retreat. She ran toward him, tears cutting through the ash on her cheeks.
Kain's clawed hand shot out, closing around her throat—
Her pulse fluttered against his fingers. Warm. Alive.
A memory flickered from the brief glance he took around his surroundings—Bridge's corpse, drained and discarded. Addison and Aiden, their hands still clasped in death.
Kain's leg seemed to give out, causing the target of Serena's dagger to shift—from the right side of his chest, to the left.
The blade pierced his heart with surgical precision.
Serena stumbled back, her hands flying to her mouth. Although she desperately wished to restrain him, she had no intention of killing him. "K-Kain—?"
He smiled as the world dimmed. Better this than continuing to live as a monster.
Blackness swallowed him.
A deep chime ringing out was the last thing he heard.